Injection molding device



A118126, 1941- E. R. KNowLEs 2,253,627

INJECTION MOLDING DEVICE Filed April 2, 1938 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 26, 1941 INJECTION'zfMOLDlNG DEVICE Application-AMER, 1938, '-Serial No.-;199.;V56E

(Cl. '18K-230i s claims.

Thisriinvention relate'sf.:to :improvementscin anni injection device for charging a ,mold rwithl ta l. thermoplastic..materiaum lriiportantobj'eets of zth'einventlom are, to prof A videfsuchramcinjectionudevice :designed ton per-'- formxits work''with maximumz eiciency ;l tolmake provision in sucha devicelfonimproved. distribu-l tion;I nfzheat'lthrough 'la 1 Chargefl of .Y the fmolda'ble material in orden to quickly. :bring thee entire charge .toxa required plastid-condition; increase tlerate 'ofrlnjection .land assist materially.: in obtainingz molded.v product-of: good ziqualit'y;VV to. Y. provideaifor;rlaccuratei. control;v of theV degree. of 1 heatrsupplidfltoethe chargerfand to .providelsuch 1 laidevice with :improved'features 1of;fdesign-1:and: assemblyifaz Othextfi'objectszzofthe `invention wil-l1- .appear hereinafter; Y

Inf.the-drawinggsligs, 1 .,isura xlongitudinal sec-` l tionalview :of fthe -irij e'ctiox11-:device showinglt ina. delivery 'connection' cwith a mold 1 and x with .the injeictionf. plunger@` advancedzto l the limit sof the inj ectionistroke; L

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view'cfwthe". devicezupon axlarger-iscale thanJFigtil andcwith theerearlportion foftthe; device Ybrokennaway;

Figi-.4 iis a.:sideaaviewrfofethetorpedofshowing:la mod'rcationthereof gi Figlfizan enlarged crosszssection lon thesfline 5%-5 jpff; Figi; 2 Y

Fig. 6 visitan sende; viewfcvofa: the itorpedo onazthez'. z

saame sca;1e.fas:zligz5;-; Y t

Figi. 7 is a rearl'endfviewoithe.injectic'mfnozzle;`

ander l Fig; 8 visza-.side view iof: anx end portionxof the: torpedo? showing .a *further modification; Y

Itfsl'we-ll knownfinithe art of injection :mold inggfofn: a athermoplasticmaterialg y.such as.; a cellulose. acetate;v vvfor:t example-1: .that the* provisionzfofaa satisfactory` injection device Yhas been attendedlbygserious' difficulties. In an :elementary formfsucha device-consistsfof an injee-tionkcylinderixhavingL a.: transverse :charging t orilce,'j a plunger tto u Iadvance the' charge f in'- the r, cylinder; anL-injeeti0nf-nozzle vat the 1 forward end 'of they cylinder" and.1 heating.` means f'surrounding kthe cylinder-fitoI hea'tffthecharge-` therein `lto-"a plastic statewv A:fserious fault .in-that form of deviceis that .in heating theen-tire charge -suicientlythe outervzportion "of the :charge-r. near the cylinder-- wall, becomeseoverheate'dand causes flaws inthe molded product; In 'orderfto' overcome this dicu1ty therel1as beenemploved a spreader for the within the:injectionrcyliriderori a heatedi13K-tene;\L sion thereon-f `It;doecoines:.-theatedz4 to za1certain1r; extent by conductionxthrough'tsfnnountingiri theol injection passageeanditsz lconstrainstthe charge toi-,s pass` betweenflitezand heated `:cylinder wall Because-aoft shape suchzfa spreadergris come monly. called nagftorpeddf Heretoforefeitsize ploymen-t fha'sgsbeen attendediby yf-:sevleral jdijcuL tiesi.r;including@failures-td; heats esucientlwathee necessitygforrzexpansion lof ,thercylinderpborer 011:? the provisioncofran extension'uponcgthe cylinder: to accommodate-:inthe diicultyz of mounting for:y sullicientn heat ,f conductionfwit-hout: obj ectionl able ;;restriction ofyf thezfinjection'; passage; panda difficulty-fofi.l remova .landn'replacement The@ presents` injector isa;qxzlevisedff;toi' eliminate theseii faults as Well 1. as@ others, l1asr -,wifllappeaniereina2 after;

Thefinjectiondevioe fincludesanielongatedinjection` .or..heatin`g#acylinderf'l horizontallysupf ported, an injection, plunger; =2. .-flttedr;to;recipr catenin-the rear.length:por-tion of lthezrcylinde and :an injection :nozzlefa latatheV forward :Bnd :of l the i cylinder:` At `its Amper side the. cylinder a charging l; port .4 located :diiectly Gin advancemfe? the irearmost position-wfv theplunger: Aihopper; 5 isinounted` `over said. port' to deliver -zthemold-s ablefmaterial inraggranularrfor. powderedfformel through saidzport-atofthe bore 6 of'thezcylinderf The nozzle l3 isadapted to discharge; intoamold defined: ,by fa `rpair yofffabutting water-4cooled'` dieseY D. Knockout pins 'I project through one of saidfz dies-to-fej ect :the molded productslwhenthe .dies arey 0pened.- The meansfforrsupportingf thefdies and forhopeningand closingg the mold,.= andthe@ meansl .fo'r :reciprocatingA the-plungerware :omitted r. from the illustration asthey; form'- nofapart lofi'Y the :present invention:

The bore 6 nof the cylinder yisflongeand fofwunif form diameter from? the, rear. vendf ofv the :cyl-ina.-v der to-a point'nearftheforward end;` ,There-1 t??y has va counterbore 8 lthreaded-- for :attachmentrotl the nozzle; Within'thelborexs `rther-exis asmetalx torpedo' 9 ofi-improved designa It'icomprisesffan'. elongated v bodywoff 'cylindrical form throughout-,- most ofzaits l length and havingnstreamlinedf ends tapering to a point. YThev fbody; ist` integrally '1r formed-withi thinrradial fins il 0 for :supporting it centered within thebore; pInY the formtshownf Figs. 1, 2 and 3 there are; three nszequallyspaced around the vbody.` andextending the aentire flengthf.A

" of the 1torpedo.-f Preferably thefdifferen'ceffbe-ftween the uniformv diameterof thetorpedofandl;

that of' the bore 6 ldoes notexceedaone-half lofihold the body centered within the bore by engagement with the wall of the latter. In combination with the wall of the bore the cylindrical body of the torpedo denes a long, annular or tubular injection passage whose thickness preferably does not exceed one quarter of an inch. The torpedo extends from a point slightly in advance of the forward limit of stroke of the plunger to approximately the forward end of the cylinder. There it abuts the interior of the nozzle, as will be explained hereinafter. Preferably the length of the torpedo is several times the total stroke length of the plunger 2. Two and one-half times the stroke length has been found to be a satisfactory length for the torpedo. The length of the cylindrical portion of the torpedo is preferably at least twice the said stroke length.

The nozzle 3 has a head 3a and a shank 3b externally threaded to screw into the counterbore 8. The head is formed with a rounded nipple 3c to t into the entrance of the mold gate and having a restricted injection port 3d. Said port leads from a conoidal cavity 3e formed in the nozzle and iiaring to the rear end of the nozzle where it is of the same diameter as the bore 6 and merges with it. At its forward end said cavity is rounded where it meets the injection port. The rear end of the nozzle has an annular rib or bead 3 immediately surrounding the mouth of cavity 3e, of less diameter than the f following threaded portion of the nozzle, and of yless diameter than the bottom of the counterbore 8. Said threaded portion is formed with a plurality of longitudinal grooves or iiutes equally spaced therearound and extending the length thereof. These grooves interrupt the thread and are of greater depth than the thread.

The head of the nozzle is polygonal to receive a wrench, and the Vnozzle is screwed into the counterbore 8 until the bead 3f bottoms therein. There is then an annular space around the bead, at the bottom of the counterbore and opening into the rear ends of the grooves. This space and the grooves provide a vent for any material which may be forced past the abutment bead by the injection thrust and prevent clogging of the screw threads and consequent diiicult removal of the nozzle. Furthermore the interrupted thread acts like a tap when the nozzle is unscrewed and cuts out any of the material which I may have lodge-d in the thread of the counterbore.

Forward displacement of the torpedo by the injection thrust is resisted by the nozzle 3. The tapering wall of the nozzle recess 3e forms an abutment for the forward end of the torpedo. The torpedo ns I0 extend clear tothe forward end of the torpedo and their outer edges there converge correspondingly to the taper of said recess wall, as at I2.' All of the fins make abutting contact of material length with said wall to positively resist the injection thrust upon the torpedo. Between the n abutments there is space for the material to pass the forward end of the torpedo and reach the injection port.

Heating means surround the injection cylinder from a point adjacent to the charging port 4 to a point near the forward end of the cylinder. In the present instance there are three annular electrical heating units I3, Ia and |31. For a one and one-half inch cylinder bore I have found it satisfactory to have a forward unit I3 of eight hundred wattage and the units I3a and |31 each of six hundred wattage. The heating units are surrounded by a jacket formed by a cylindrical lthe wall of the bore 6.

'- through the stream of material.

shell I4 and annular end members I5 mounted upon the exterior of the cylinder and supporting said shell. The jacket space between the shell and the heating units is filled with asbestos packing I6.

Fig. 4 shows a slightly modified form of the torpedo. Here the body 9a of the torpedo is similar to that previously described but is provided with supporting ns only at its end portions. These iins, designated |02' and I0", are exactly like the end portions of the fins I0 in form and arrangement. Omission of fins from most of the length of the torpedo reduces the resistance to flow of the material past the torpedo. At the same time the torpedo is adequately supported in centered position in the bore. In both forms the fins are merged with the body of the torpedo by curved surfaces and taper toward their outer edges. Preferably their outer edges are rounded as shown. Sharp corners are avoided to reduce flow resistance and prevent lodging of the material.

Fig. 8 shows another modification of the torpedo. Pin-like projections I8 are here molded upon the rear end portion of the torpedo body, as substitutes for the pins |01. These projections are streamlined, as indicated.

Provision is also made for more accurate control of the temperature in the bore 6. For that purpose the injection cylinder is provided with a slender bore I9 extending obliquely inward from the forward end of the cylinder to a point located between the surrounding heating unit I3 and the bore 6 and quite close to the latter.

` A thermocouple 2|! is fitted in the bore I9 and has connection with the usual means, not shown, for controlling the supply of current to the heating means. Heretofore it has been customary to locate the thermocouple directly at the heating means, quite removed from the injection bore. By locating the thermocouple close to the bore the heat control means is rendered more responsive to the temperature requirements within the bore.

In the operation of the injection device advance of the plunger 2 from the dotted line position in Fig. 1 to the full line position forces a charge of the moldable material into the restricted passage between the torpedo body and Several charges are forced along said passage before mold-charging is commenced, in order to give the cylinderand the torpedo time to heat up sumciently. The torpedo is heated mainly by transference of heat The stream is long and thin, preferably not exceeding onequarter of an inch in radial thickness.y Therefore the material in the passage has a maximum area of Contact with the heated wall of the bore 6 and also with the torpedo. Heat transference to the torpedo is thereby assisted and is accelerated as the material becomes plastic and its conductivity increases. An approximate equality of temperature between the wall of the bore and the slender torpedo is thus obtained to render the material uniformly plastic. The injection speed can then be increased with consequent increase in molding capacity and also with ensurance of complete charging of the mold. High injection l speed is most desirable in order to prevent hardening of the material in the chilled mold before the mold cavities are completely filled.

The design of the injection device also facilitates cleaning and other servicing. Removal of the nozzle 3 by unscrewing frees the torpedo for withdrawal through the forward end of the bore. The completely streamlined torpedo, the uniform bore and the nozzle 3 can then be easily cleaned. The bore contains no transverse abutments for the torpedo and no corners for lodgment of material. Consequently there is no danger of lodged material becoming charred, working out into the injection stream and causing flaws in the molded product.

It will be seen that the injection device has been designed to render the thermoplastic material uniformly plastic at a rapid rate, ensure more fiawless molding, increase the rate of injection and molding and facilitate servicing. It will also be seen that these advantages are obtained without structural complications. The device is extremely simple and comparatively inexpensive t0 manufacture.

What I claim is:

1. An injection device for charging a mold, comprising a body with an injection bore and an internally screw-threaded counterbore at the forward end thereof, and an injection nozzle having a shank externally screw-threaded and screwengaged in said counterbore, characterized in that the nozzle shank has an annular end abutment rib to abut the bottom of the counterbore and of an external diameter to afford an annular space therearound in the counterbore, and the threaded shank of the nozzle has a plurality of longitudinal grooves therealong opening into said comprising a. body with an injection bore and an internally screw threaded counterbore at the forward end of said injection bore, and an injection nozzle having a shank externally screw-threaded and screw-engaged in said counterbore, characterized in that the screw-threaded connection between the nozzle shank and the counterbore is longitudinally fiuted, for the purpose set forth.

3. An injection device for charging a mold with thermoplastic material, comprising an injection cylinder, an injection nozzle at the forward end of said cylinder, an injection plunger reciprocable inthe cylinder, a torpedo within the cylinder and between said plunger and nozzle, and means for heating the cylinder, characterized in that the bore of the cylinder containing the plunger and torpedo is elongated and of uniform diameter, the torpedo is formed arranged and supported to define, in combination with said bore, an injection passage around and along the torpedo and in delivery communication with the nozzle and of a length along the bore vrriaterially exceeding the length of the plunger stroke, said bore is counterbored at its forward end, the injection nozzle has a shank to fit in `said counterbore and abut the bottom thereof, there is a screw-threaded connection between the nozzle shank and the counterbore, said screw-threaded connection is uted longitudinally of the nozzle, for the purpose set forth, and the nozzle forms an abutment for the Vforward end of the torpedo to resist endwise in jection thrust upon the latter. Y

k EDWARD R. KNOWLES 

